/m/cubs

Reader Comments and Retorts

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

Seems more like gap power. I don't see a 5'9' guy having much home run power. But he can fly. Kauffman Stadium would be perfect for him. Spray the ball around, hit triples, be a ballhawk out there. But I don't see the Royals going after him.

I can't help but wonder if the Red Sox getting Cespedes is part of the recruitment of Castillo? Start a Little Havana in New England?

The Cubs have money and need OF help but signing him could mean Alcantara doesn't have a place to play (probably doesn't project to hit well enough for LF). If Castillo became a Cub it would be another interesting dilemma to add to Castro/Russell. It would also "block" Almora who remains highly regarded despite a wretched 2014 minor league season.

Do they have inflated stats? This says he hit .319/.383/.516 in 360 games. I'll take Cuban stats with a grain of salt, but that doesn't seem bad unless the hitting environment is like college baseball.

Cespedes hovered around a 1.050 OPS in Cuba. The issue with Castillo is that his last year there (60 some games) he was pretty mediocre with an OPS around .800. In MLB terms my wild guess is that's something more like a .650 or .700 OPS which would be pretty rough. OTOH, his defense looks pretty decent from what I've read.

I'll take Cuban stats with a grain of salt, but that doesn't seem bad unless the hitting environment is like college baseball.

I've read somewhere that the overall (mean average) caliber of play is thought to be around A ball quality, assuming that you'd still need to know league run context, 319/.383/.516 would be impressive in the FSL, it wouldn't be in the California league

Seems more like gap power. I don't see a 5'9' guy having much home run power

5'9", 205lbs isn't your average 5'9". (And, as I always enjoy with guys like this, BMI puts him in the "obese" range).

I'm no scout, but on first view his swing seemed off to me, but watching again I don't know what I saw. It might've just been that he was reaching out over the plate, but if he can go oppo that's not a bad thing necessarily.

Would he be the oldest Cuban hitter to in terms of start age in the US?

Any GM who's bidding $30-plus million for Castillo after refusing to bid $70M for Jose Dariel Abreu should be shot fired.

True this. Abreau put up mondo impressive stats in Cuba. He was quite clearly the best power hitter on the island. Based on what Cespedes and Puig had done already in MLB, Abreau was a relatively safe bet. Castillo-not so much.

I don't see a 5'9' guy having much home run power

Listed at 5-10, The Toy Cannon disagrees.5'8 Kirby Puckett had some pretty good pop.
Reaching back further, 5'6, 190 pound, bandy legged with an upper body built like a barrel (Somewhat similar to Kirby now that I think of it), Hack Wilson also differs.